by Russell Vannozzi | Mar 5, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
The odds were in favor of the Lipscomb men’s basketball team during Monday night’s ASUN quarterfinal matchup against Kennesaw State. Not only were the Owls without head coach Al Skinner, who recently resigned, but leading scorer Tyler Hooker (19 points per game) also missed the contest after taking an elbow to the face last week. Despite 25 points from Danny Lewis and 18 more from Bobby Parker, the No. 1 Bisons were able to fend off the pesky No. 8 Owls for an 86-71 victory at Allen Arena. The win propelled Lipscomb (24-6) to the ASUN semifinals, where it will host No. 5 NJIT on Thursday at 7 p.m. Lipscomb guard Kenny Cooper registered a rare triple-double by scoring 15 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out 10 assists. It was just the second triple-double in the program’s NCAA Division I era — the first came when Josh Slater had 10 points, 12 assists and 10 steals on Feb. 17, 2011 against USC Upstate. “I’m really proud of Kenny,” Alexander said. “Our team’s a lot better when he’s aggressive and making plays. He had seven assists at halftime, which is the most impressive part of it to me. That shows that he’s engaged, pushing the tempo and making plays for himself and others.” ASUN Player of the Year and Lipscomb senior Garrison Mathews dropped 26 points and nailed five three-pointers. Fellow senior teammate Rob Marberry finished 8-of-9 from the field in a 16-point effort. “It’s tough to beat us when Rob plays great inside and goes 8-for-9,” Mathews said. “You can go down the list…Eli [Pepper], [Michael] Buckland, Ahsan...
by Spencer Boehme | Mar 4, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Lumination Radio is set to broadcast the ASUN quarterfinals men’s basketball game between the No. 8 Kennesaw State Owls and the No. 1 Lipscomb Bisons. Spencer Boehme will be on play-by-play, while Russell Vannozzi will provide color. You can access the free live stream here. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m....
by Russell Vannozzi | Mar 3, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
Defeating a team three times in one season is no easy task, but that’s what the Lipscomb men’s basketball team must do if it wants to advance in the ASUN tournament. The No. 1 Bisons play No. 8 Kennesaw State on Monday night at 7 p.m. in Allen Arena. Lipscomb has home-court privileges for the entirety of the ASUN tournament after edging out Liberty (25-6, 14-2 ASUN) for the tiebreaker. “That’s what you work for,” coach Casey Alexander told LipscombSports.com. “I think the hardest thing to do in any sport, and at any level, is to be the best in your league. That’s a long-term measure of success, and our guys have been good for 16 games in the league.” Lipscomb (23-6, 14-2 ASUN) already owns two victories over Kennesaw State after beating them 86-57 on Jan. 21 in Nashville and 83-67 on Feb. 16 in Georgia. Ironically, the only time the two teams have met in the ASUN tourney was when Lipscomb was a No. 1 seed and Kennesaw State was a No. 8 seed in 2010. The Owls squeaked out a 72-69 upset. “It was a completely different time, but we know,” Alexander said. “Anything can happen in a 40-minute game, regardless of seed, and that’s the way we approach it.” BREAKING DOWN THE OWLS Kennesaw State has had a difficult year. The Owls finished the regular season 6-25 overall (3-13 ASUN), and coach Al Skinner recently announced his resignation, effective at the end of the season. But the Owls have the ASUN’s second-leading scorer in junior Tyler Hooker (19.0 PPG) – second only to Mathews (19.8...
by Erika Plunkett | Mar 3, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
After losing to NJIT on Wednesday and clinching the No. 9 seed in the ASUN, the Lady Bisons fell to the North Alabama Lions on their senior night Saturday afternoon in Florence 71-50. Lipscomb did not have much to play for Saturday, as clinching the ninth seed eliminated the Lady Bisons from the ASUN tournament next week. So, as has been this season’s story for the Bisons (3-24, 1,14 ASUN), they could not maintain their first half intensity and let a three-point game at halftime become an almost 30 point game once in the fourth quarter. On the other hand, the Lions (19-6, 10-5 ASUN) had everything to play for as this game assured them one of the top four seeds in the ASUN and the opportunity to host at least one game in the tournament in their first season as a Division 1 school. The game got off to a slow start as Lipscomb and UNA posted strong defensive performances in the first quarter but were unable to convert on the other end of the court. In this period, the two teams only posted a combined 22 points. Last time these two schools met, it was junior guard Emma Wallen who provided the early spark for the Lions. But today it was a different sister out of the triplet trio — fellow junior guard Ivy Wallen — who was the early conductor for UNA’s offense and led the Lions in scoring in the first half. For the Bisons, the scoring was evenly spread across the roster with all 10 players who entered the game posting at least...
by Spencer Boehme | Mar 1, 2019 | BREAKING NEWS, News Slider, Sports
Lipscomb fans will get to see the Lipscomb men’s basketball team host every game it plays in the ASUN tournament next week. After an 87-75 win at North Alabama’s Flowers Hall on Friday night, the Bisons (23-6, 14-2 ASUN) secured the No. 1 seed and home-court advantage for the ASUN tournament thanks to a tiebreaker over Liberty. “I’m certainly pleased and proud of our team,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said. “I think people picked us to be first, and we finished first.” The tiebreaker with Liberty (also 14-2 ASUN) came down to how both teams played against No. 3 seed North Florida. The Bisons beat North Florida twice, while the Flames split their contests with the Ospreys. Senior forward Rob Marberry dominated in the paint on Friday night, leading with 22 points (10-of-12 field goals). “It’s good to bounce back, have a good offensive game,” Marberry said. “Pretty balanced offensive game throughout the whole team.” Video by Erin Franklin The Bisons were led in rebounds by senior forward Eli Pepper, who had 10. Junior guards Michael Buckland and Kenny Cooper tied with five assists apiece. The Lions (10-21, 7-9 ASUN) were led by freshman guard Jamari Blackmon, who had 22 points and tied with senior guard and forward Kendall Stafford for a team-leading three assists. Stafford also posted a double-double with 16 points and a team-high 11 rebounds. The Bisons and the Lions struggled for most of the first half. Nobody scored a field goal until Pepper dunked at the 17:32 mark to give Lipscomb the 3-0 lead. With 9:25 left in the first, the Bisons led 21-12, but the Lions...
by Russell Vannozzi | Mar 1, 2019 | News Slider, Sports
College athletic departments have dealt with declining attendance numbers in recent years, and Lipscomb is no exception. The Bisons saw a drop in men’s basketball attendance during both the 2016-17 and 2017-18 seasons. Busy schedules, distracted students and the availability of online broadcasts are among the factors to blame. “That’s a hard thing everywhere,” Lipscomb coach Casey Alexander said of attendance. “It doesn’t matter what the sport is, and it doesn’t matter the success level of the teams. It’s harder to get people to come and watch the game in person when they have to give up the conveniences of watching it at home.” But this year has been different for the Lipscomb. Following its first-ever NCAA tournament berth in 2018, the Bisons have enjoyed a 37 percent increase in attendance. Lipscomb played its final home game of the regular season against NJIT in front of 1,908 fans Monday night. That brought the season’s total home gate to 28,645 over 14 contests – an average of 2,046 fans per game. That’s the program’s best average since the 2011-12 season, when it averaged 2,343 fans. Despite having an NCAA tournament squad last season, the Bisons drew just 1,495 per game. “The success of our team has really helped [attendance],” Lipscomb senior Matt Rose said. “Obviously, last year and the year before we were good, but we didn’t have the track record that we have now. This year everyone expects big things from us, and they want to come see us play.” Lipscomb’s marketing department has also increased its efforts this season. Free pizza and free t-shirts have been given to...
